Drilling takes its toll on roads, people's safety

Updated 8:54 am, Sunday, July 8, 2012

KENEDY — On a recent sunny afternoon, the streets of this Karnes County town were teeming. Pickups, oil tankers and gravel trucks clogged U.S. 181. Cars were backed up at intersections. Trucks waited in a line at a gas station.

But there's something more than just traffic crowding the town's streets these days. There's fear.

“You take your life in your own hands by being out on the road right now,” Karnes County Sheriff David Jalufka said.

Karnes is one of more than a dozen counties inundated with traffic from the Eagle Ford Shale energy boom. In the past six months, Karnes County alone has seen 12 people die in traffic accidents, according to Jalufka. That's 12 times the number of fatalities reported to the Texas Department of Transportation in 2008, just as oil and gas drilling started to take off.

So many people were killed on Texas 239 southeast of Kenedy — five since March 1 — that it's now known as the “death trap.”

Most counties in the Eagle Ford Shale region have seen a sharp increase in crashes, especially involving commercial motor vehicles. LaSalle County has had a 418 percent increase in that type of crash since 2008, and McMullen County a 1,050 percent increase.

Photo: Billy Calzada, San Antonio Express-News

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Trucks related to the Eagle Ford Shale energy industry make their way along Highway 181 in Kenedy, Texas, on Friday, July 6, 2012.

Trucks related to the Eagle Ford Shale energy industry make their way along Highway 181 in Kenedy, Texas, on Friday, July 6, 2012.

Photo: Billy Calzada, San Antonio Express-News

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Trucks related to the Eagle Ford Shale energy industry make their way along Highway 181 in Kenedy, Texas, on Friday, July 6, 2012.

Trucks related to the Eagle Ford Shale energy industry make their way along Highway 181 in Kenedy, Texas, on Friday, July 6, 2012.

Since March 1, five people have died on the stretch of FM 239 outside of Kenedy in Karnes County. Some locals now call it the “death trap.”

Since March 1, five people have died on the stretch of FM 239 outside of Kenedy in Karnes County. Some locals now call it the “death trap.”

Photo: Harry Thomas

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Commercial vehicle crashes have increased in recent years as traffic mushroomed in the counties affected by the Eagle Ford Shale energy boom.

Commercial vehicle crashes have increased in recent years as traffic mushroomed in the counties affected by the Eagle Ford Shale energy boom.

Photo: Harry Thomas

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Drilling takes its toll on roads, people's safety

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As more companies and workers flock to the Eagle Ford Shale, roads are busier than ever and deteriorating quickly. While it's hard to pinpoint any one factor causing the traffic deaths, county and state officials are trying various ways to make the roads safer again.

Sleepy no more

Before the energy boom, this area of Texas was quiet, sleepy even. Not anymore.

Jalufka has seen Karnes County grow from 12,000 people to around 30,000 in recent years. By next year, he anticipates another 20,000 to 30,000 people. Roads that in the past saw one or two trucks a day now carry 500. And Jalufka has heard predictions that the rush will last another 25 to 30 years.

“There's just a lot of death around here,” Jalufka said. “And it's personal.”

An exact count of traffic deaths is difficult to come by because local agencies sometimes don't amend crash reports to the Texas Department of Transportation when people die later.

In about a dozen counties most directly affected by Eagle Ford drilling, the biggest jump in fatal traffic accidents has involved commercial vehicles, according to an analysis of TxDOT numbers, increasing from six in 2008 to 23 last year.

Mary Jane Duenes, 57, who was born and raised in Karnes City, said some people in town are leery of driving far from home.

Ann Burrage, 57, who commutes more than 50 miles from Pleasanton to Kenedy for her job at the pharmacy, said some older people have told her they're frightened to even go to certain restaurants because they have to cross a main road.

“It's very scary,” she said.

Kenedy Police Chief Duane DuBose said the traffic has increased dramatically, and much of it is commercial.

“This isn't the small town it was a year and a half ago,” said DuBose, who has lived here for nine years.

Dangers and damage

At first glance, the increase in crashes — and fatal crashes — appears to be easily explained by math. More people equals more crashes. But officials say there is more to the upswing.

Road surfaces are torn up. There are potholes and dangerous drop-offs at the pavements' edges.

The majority of the roads weren't designed to carry drilling rigs and tankers full of oil or water, he said. Big trucks hauling heavy equipment or loads are constantly wearing down the roads and causing damage, and it's hard for the county and state to keep up.

In April, a pothole sent a vehicle packed with illegal immigrants bouncing violently along Texas 792. Passengers were ejected, and two were killed.

Keeping up with the damage to the roads is an ongoing battle for all Eagle Ford counties.

“We weren't ready for it,” Jalufka said.

John James Kotzur, 56, commutes 30 miles from Stockdale to Karnes City daily for work. He said he once counted 200 potholes on his route.

“I don't think these roads have the capacity to take on the increase we've had,” Zavala County Judge Joe Luna said.

But maintaining roads isn't just a race against the clock. It's a race for money.

Jalufka said he has had positive interactions with the oil companies in Karnes County. They want to donate their time and money to keeping the community safe, he said.

LaSalle County recently reached a financial settlement with drilling companies that county leaders said weren't doing their part to take care of the roads.

But it's not just road quality contributing to the crashes. It's driver error, too. In a few cases, oil field workers, worn out from long hours, have fallen asleep at the wheel.

“We've had several accidents related to fatigue,” Dimmit County Judge Fransisco Ponce said. “They have to put in so many hours.”

In fact, highway accidents were the leading cause of death among oil field workers nationally between 2003 and 2008, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Looking ahead

Community members and leaders are quick to point out the economic benefits derived from drilling. It's not all bad, but it presents a dilemma.

“How do we increase public safety and still be able to have economic development?” said Sally Velasquez, spokeswoman for Frio County. As the death toll grows, the counties and state are trying new ways to curb crashes.

Counties and cities are hiring, or seeking the means to hire, more officers in sheriffs' departments and police departments.

The Texas Department of Public Safety recently initiated a campaign targeting Eagle Ford counties. Extra troopers and officers are looking for all kinds of violations, said Trooper Jason Reyes, in the hopes of encouraging safer driving from everyone on the road. So far, the sweeps have been effective, he said. DPS saw no fatalities or crashes during its time spent in Karnes and Wilson counties.

County judges in five counties — Frio, LaSalle, Zavala, Dimmit and Webb — were added to TxDOT's energy task force in May. The counties hope to have more of a voice in state decisions, including how to get more tax revenue from drilling to pay for road upkeep.

DeWitt County commissioned an engineering study that showed it would need as much as $432 million to repair or replace roads for the drilling activity anticipated during the next 20 years.

In Karnes County, the sheriff and Shaw recently initiated a Keep Karnes County Safe program. When residents report commercial vehicles driving unsafely to county officials, a letter is written to the company. The companies have been very receptive, Shaw said.

DuBose said he doesn't want an “us” versus “them” mentality to develop between the locals and those arriving from out of town to work.

“We want everyone to work together,” he said.

Shaw agreed.

“The road's big,” she said. “Everybody has a right to use it. Let's just share.”

DuBose said people can be safer by eliminating distractions while driving and leaving with plenty of time to get places.

“There is no room for error,” he said.

Making the roads safer is not going to be easy, Jalufka said. And it's not going to be a short-lived effort. But it's also not insurmountable.

“It has brought some problems,” he said, “problems that we can work through.”